UNCW tests its readiness for a Category 5 hurricane

By Lindy Schoenborn StarNews Correspondent

Sunday

Dec 3, 2017 at 10:00 AM

WILMINGTON -- The University of North Carolina Wilmington, along with other UNC-system campuses, carried out a Category 5 hurricane drill nicknamed "Hurricane Zephyr" from Oct. 13 through the 18th. The drill, which had the support of the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the N.C. Department of Emergency Management,, had been planned since 2015 to prepare for the threat of a devastating storm.

The exercise was created to see if the UNC system would be ready and equipped to handle the destruction and impacts that could occur if a Category 5 hurricane struck Wilmington and closed the campus for a year.

The UNCW Department of Environmental Health and Safety coordinated the drill and involved FEMA, the National Weather Service, the National Guard, 14 UNC campuses, the UNC General Administration, and state and local emergency management officials.

Afterward, he said he was pleased with the exercise, saying "it went very smoothly."

The drill involved staging an evacuation, implementing emergency operations, and testing procedures to assure the continuity of education for UNCW students if the campus was badly damaged. Post-storm assessments evaluated the responses.

The test simulated the procedures and communications that could take place in the event of a real catastrophic storm, including evacuating a group of students from UNCW’s campus to UNC Greensboro. The drill involved more than 175 people at UNCW, including students from the communication studies, nursing and psychology departments.

"We had participation from everyone who needed to be involved from the chancellor on down," Griffin said. "FEMA said that our plan would already work as intended and I look forward to learning their recommendations on how we can make it even better."

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